Rezoning for Markley Farms recommended by West Norriton Planning Commission

By
Carl Rotenberg, The Times Herald

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

WEST NORRITON — The West Norriton Planning Commission Monday night held a public hearing on a zoning text amendment to rezone the 56-acre, former Markley Farms Swim & Tennis Club for single-family homes.

The commission unanimously recommended the zoning change to the Board of Commissioners along with suggested amendments to the cluster development requirements of the R-2 zone.

“We are not here to subdivide the property. We are here to rezone the property to allow us to market the property,” said attorney George Ozorowski, representing the Markley Farms property owners. “It is zoned RA and RE. It is surrounded on three sides by R-2. We are asking it to be rezoned to be consistent with the neighborhood. Right now it is farmed for hay.”

At the request of township officials, the parcel owners prepared a yield study this summer that determined 78 single-family homes could be built on 22.6 acres with 26.4 acres left for common open space and five acres for roads. The open space is located in the center of the parcel surrounding the creek and pond area.

The yield plan showed two proposed driveway entrances off both Oakland Drive and Chestnut Avenue to serve the two clusters of homes on the plan. A driveway intended only for emergency vehicles would connect the two areas.

A Sept. 30 review letter from the Montgomery County Planning Commission (MCPC) recommended the zoning change along with “possible amendments to the cluster development requirements — changes to dimensional standards, modifications to use regulations and the addition of design standards.”

The letter from MCPC Design Planner Kevin Chavous said amendments should include “an increase in the minimum open space requirements to 50 percent or 60 percent. At present, the minimum open space is set at 25 percent of the tract area.”

Land planner Ken Amey, representing the land owners, said, “we think we have proposed something that is less intense than the existing R-2 provisions. The R-2 cluster would be amended so that the minimum lot size would be increased from 8,000-square-feet to 10,000-square-feet. Another developer could come in with another plan but I think the yield would remain close to 78 homes.”

Amey said the property owners were “suggesting increasing open space to 40 percent and increasing the lot size to 10,000 square feet. The county had recommended a density of 2.5 units per acre which would be 140 units.”

Resident Beth Karpinski told the commissioners that the land should be used for a 55-and-older residential community.

“It would be entirely new for our township. It allows older residents to remain in the township. It still contributes to the tax base,” Karpinski said. “Smaller homes reduce the demands on the sewer system and it preserves the legacy of a community garden.”

Amey said that an overlay zoning district under the current zoning rules would allow a 55-and-older community.

“For a while they were very popular and now they are less popular,” Ozorowski said. “We don’t want to be restricted to finding a particular buyer.”

Resident Stephen Tolbert Jr. asked if the open space would be available to the entire West Norriton community.

Amey said that a walking trail and the open space in the interior of the parcel could be used by township residents.

In March 2012, the Board of Commissioners refused to schedule a zoning hearing for the Freedom Valley YMCA, which had presented a plan to build a $19 million, full-service YMCA facility at the swim club. A majority of West Norriton residents at two public meetings on the proposal had objected to the recreational facility, the anticipated increase in traffic and the disturbance of the residential neighborhood.

The YMCA had an agreement of sale to purchase the 56-acre swim club for $3 million. The requested zoning change would have allowed the YMCA to present the site plans for approval.

The YMCA proposal included a new, 85,000-square-foot building with three indoor pools, a gymnasium, an indoor track, a fitness room, several locker rooms, child-care rooms and three outdoor pools.